The Nebraska State Senate is the State of Nebraska's legislative branch. The Legislature meets in the Nebraska State Capitol at Lincoln. It is unique in that it is the only American state legislature that is unicameral. It is often referred to by Nebraska residents as "the unicameral" or "the uni".

Each Nebraska state senator represents an average of 37,272 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 34,924.[2]

Sessions

Article III of the Nebraska Constitution establishes when the Senate is to be in session. Section 10 of Article III states that the Senate is to convene annually on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January. In odd-numbered years, regular sessions are limited to ninety days. In even-numbered years, regular sessions are limited to sixty days. Sessions in any year can be extended by a four-fifths majority of the Senate.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the Legislature, it is up to the Governor to select a replacement. If a vacancy happens in the last 60 days before a general election, the replacement appointed by the Governor serves the remainder of the term until a new representative is elected. If the vacancy happens more than 60 days before the general election, the replacement serves the remainder of the unfilled term until the next general election[15].

Redistricting

In Nebraska, the state legislature's Executive Board sets up a Redistricting Committee to draw the new district maps every ten years. This committee must be comprised of three representatives from each of Nebraska's three Congressional districts and no more than five members of one political party.[17]

2010

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nebraska's population rose from 1.71 million to 1.83 million between 2000 and 2010.[18] The area around urban Omaha grew substantially, while western Nebraska's population continued to decline. Despite the need to reshuffle, Nebraska had enough population growth to keep its three Congressional seats.[19]

Early in the 2011 redistricting process, several senators proposed legislation that would change the number of senators in an effort to either keep western representation robust (by adding a senator) or decreasing costs and giving the savings as a travel stipend (by subtracting four senators). Western representatives attempted to find a means for preserving their senators, but the population growth in the East precluded any solution beyond changing the number of senators. A public hearing also attracted many complaints concerning the manner in which previous districts were split.[20][21] However, the legislative map, with some changes, was passed 39-0 on May 20, 2011 as LB 703.[22][23]

Selection, composition and operation

The Legislature comprises forty-nine members, chosen by a single-member district or constituency. Senators are chosen for four-year terms, with one-half of the seats up for election every second year. No person may be a senator unless he or she is a qualified voter, over the age of twenty-one, and a resident of his or her district for at least one year. Currently, senators are limited by law to two terms. Senators earn $12,000 a year.

Non-partisan

Members are selected in nonpartisan elections. Rather than separate primaries held to choose Republican, Democratic, and other partisan contenders for a seat, Nebraska uses a single nonpartisan primary election, in which the top two vote-getters are entitled to run in the general election. There are no formal party alignments or groups within the Legislature. Coalitions tend to form issue by issue based on a member's philosophy of government, geographic background, and constituency. However, almost all the members of the legislature are affiliated with the state affiliate of either the Democratic or the Republican party and both parties explicitly endorse candidates for legislative seats.

Meetings and Leadership

Sessions of the Nebraska Legislature last for 90 working days in odd-numbered years and 60 working days in even-numbered years. The Speaker presides over the Legislature in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, but the day-to-day matters of the body are dealt with by the Executive Board. The Board includes the Speaker, a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and six other senators. The chairperson and vice-chairperson are chosen for two-year terms by the Legislature as a whole. Senators are classified into three geographically-based "caucuses"; each caucus elects two board members. Finally, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee serves, but cannot vote on any matter, and can only speak on fiscal matters.

General powers

The Legislature is responsible for law-making in the state, but the Governor has the power to veto any bill. The Legislature may override the governor's veto by a vote of three-fifths (30) of its members. The Legislature also has the power, by a three-fifths vote, to propose constitutional amendments to the voters, who then decide upon it through a referendum.

Senators

Salaries

As of 2013, members of the Nebraska Senate are paid $12,000/year. Per diem is $123/day for members living outside a 50-mile radius of the Capitol. Per diem is $46/day for members living inside the 50-mile radius. Rates are tied to the federal rate.[24]

History

Nebraska originally operated under a bicameral legislature. Over time, defects in the bicameral system became apparent. Bills were lost because the two houses could not agree on a single version, and conference committees that were created to reconcile different versions of bills often met in secret, and were thus unaccountable for their actions. After a trip to Australia in 1931,[26] George Norris campaigned for reform, arguing that the bicameral system was based on the inherently undemocratic British House of Lords, and that it was pointless to have two bodies of people doing the same thing and hence wasting money. He specifically pointed to the example of the Parliament for the Australian state of Queensland, which had adopted a unicameral parliament nearly ten years earlier.[27] In 1934, a constitutional amendment was passed revoking the House of Representatives and adding all its former duties to the Senate (the amendment also legalized betting on horse races). The new unicameral Legislature met for the first time in 1937. Though the name of the body is formally the "Nebraska Legislature," its members are commonly referred to as "Senators." In Nebraska, the Legislature is also often simply known as "The Unicameral".

Partisan balance 1992-2013

With a non-partisan legislature, Nebraska’s Senate was controlled neither by the Democrats nor the Republicans during this 22 year study period.

Across the country, there were 541 Democratic and 517 Republican state senates from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.